I. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a likely outcome
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What is the likely outcome of the election?
a likely successor
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Who is his most likely successor as Director of the BBC World Service?
a likely/plausible scenario
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The more likely scenario is that support for the group will wane.
highly unlikely/likely/improbable/probable
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It’s highly unlikely that the project will be finished on time.
it seems likely/unlikely/reasonable/clear (that)
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It seems likely that he will miss Ireland’s next match.
the most likely/probable explanation (= one that is probably true )
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The most likely explanation is that John missed the bus.
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The most probable explanation is that the water was contaminated.
the possible/likely consequences
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What are the likely consequences of these changes?
the potential/likely impact
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He’s studying the potential impact of climate change.
the probable/likely cause
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The probable cause of the fire was faulty wiring.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
also
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It is also likely that because of past changes a growing number of women will retire with some entitlement to a state pension.
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It is also likely to cause instability elsewhere in the region.
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The rise in self-employment is also likely to increase the flexibility of earnings.
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It is also likely that planned economic development and rehabilitation programs will grow.
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There are also likely to be provisions against losses on swap deals with local councils, which may be over £50million.
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Construction activity and home sales are also likely to plunge because of the storm, analysts said.
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There is also likely to be a row over the name Deloitte, which neither party seems prepared to give up.
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Ethnic and linguistic factors are also likely to play a part.
as
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His life expectancy is falling and he is seven times as likely to be murdered as a white boy.
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We are just as likely to sack the supplier and look for a nicer one.
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Patients who wore them were almost twice as likely to break the habit as those who wore a dummy patch.
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Ten bad products are just as likely to fail as one bad product - there is no protection in numbers.
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He's about as likely to have sympathy for the devil as he is to have satisfaction.
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They're just as likely to be used against us as they are against you.
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And they are as likely to get worse as to get better.
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Generally speaking, a widower or divorced man was three times as likely to remarry as his female counterpart throughout the period.
hardly
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It's hardly likely that the people in charge would want to share the fate of this unfortunate planet.
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It is hardly likely that a vicious thug will wait politely while we ring the police.
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Far from being a jackpot for commuters, the compensation payouts are hardly likely to be worth the flutter.
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It seemed hardly likely she would go to such lengths to prevent her husband from discovering about the Grand Duke Igor.
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It could have been an accident, but I knew that was hardly likely , not with the file missing.
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They're hardly likely to have the most tolerant or liberal attitudes are they!
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But the Research Board is hardly likely to get involved in a policing activity.
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Such an accusation is hardly likely to have been invented by his enemies if he had not performed miracles.
highly
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It seems highly likely that this contributes to their increased risk of infection.
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This sequence is not inevitable, but is highly likely to occur eventually unless adequate steps are taken to prevent it.
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It seems highly likely that most if not all the beer produced in Brick Lane by now was porter.
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Indeed, it seems highly likely that working-class families would have controlled family size through the old, rather than new, techniques.
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A survey will be carried out of sewage disposal systems and it is highly likely that major expenditure will be necessary.
less
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I would prefer an analogue contents display because it is more eye-catching and less likely to be misread.
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The possibility of oil production seems less likely .
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They are much less likely to be using mail order.
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This is a little more expensive than a normal invitation but it is less likely that it will get lost.
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This would make you less likely to behave like this in similar circumstances in the future.
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It's already known that women who take the contraceptive pill are much less likely to develop it.
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That is less likely , perhaps, with a more radical redesign.
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I would tend to favour the first method as you are less likely to let the compost get too wet.
more
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Your face will be more likely to have a dull complexion, with podgy, sagging cheeks and double chin.
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But it is more likely that he will not go far enough.
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Attention will also be given to whether pro-development objections are more likely to succeed than anti-development ones.
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It is more likely that the incorporation of radical ideas will contribute to their dilution and distraction.
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Children are more likely to be politically interested and active if their parents have been similarly interested or active.
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Women were more likely than men to be dependent on poor relief.
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On the one hand Conservative supporters seem more concerned about the outcome on Thursday and are fractionally more likely to vote.
most
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The most likely explanation for this is that the vehicle itself is not actually speeding up, but the cooling fan is!
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They say people who die sudden, violent deaths are most likely to become ghosts and haunt the earth.
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The still-married are the most likely to continue to live in their own private homes.
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The majority are most likely engineering managers, often managing industrial research, development, and design projects.
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But one might be forgiven for doubting if this is the most likely cause of the toxic side-effects of direct drilling!
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She identified the most likely candidate as Leach, who, she said, had agreed to accept her nomination.
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The most likely tributary area is the Lasithi plain.
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Flu is most likely to affect you in the autumn and winter, e.g. from October to March.
quite
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And it's quite likely that we never will.
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However, it is quite likely that the alienated student will refuse to do much schoolwork.
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Then the hrududu is quite likely to crush you.
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At work you are quite likely to have to follow a house style.
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Absurd though it may seem, it is quite likely that Mr Honecker and his companions genuinely believe all this.
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It is quite likely that you not only have no experience of regression therapy but have never even been hypnotized before.
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This is quite likely to be X - hence our mixture of compounds.
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Relieved of this burden, quite likely things improved to some extent.
very
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It is very likely that since the calf injury the strength of the muscles will have deteriorated considerably.
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That makes it very likely that a weak compromise selection will be made.
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Some of the houses were very likely in poor condition.
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I was only on the waiting list anyway and it wasn't very likely that four people would drop out.
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But a child chewing one of these Castor beans would very likely die.
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It wasn't very likely that he was going to want to get involved again, was it?
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It is very likely to over-react, however, and introduce formal procedures that swing the pendulum too far the other way.
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Various experiments done in volcanic environments have shown that proteinoid globules are very likely to form in such regions.
■ NOUN
candidate
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The police kept up their enquiries and one or two likely candidates rose to the surface, but nothing was clearly actionable.
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In retrospect, however, it is clear that there were always good reasons why this city was a likely candidate .
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Actor David Jason is a likely candidate for one of these.
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Even the least likely candidate for a career in dance knew that Truitte was available after class for talk about the field.
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Three likely candidates for study are the comets Enke, Tempel 2 and Honday-Mrkos-Pajdusakova.
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She identified the most likely candidate as Leach, who, she said, had agreed to accept her nomination.
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With the United States running a current account deficit of staggering dimensions, the most likely candidate is not hard to spot.
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Thames, North West and Severn Trent are the most likely candidates .
cause
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As to likely causes , the out-of-round wheels phenomenon looks feasible.
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Hypokalemia is usually associated with this condition and is a more likely cause of the arrhythmias.
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But one might be forgiven for doubting if this is the most likely cause of the toxic side-effects of direct drilling!
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Flying experts again reckoned a cockpit mistake was the most likely cause of yesterday's catastrophe.
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And if I insisted he came with me, he'd likely cause trouble, just as he said.
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A spokesman for Greenpeace said that industrial pollution appeared to be the most likely cause .
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What do you think is the most likely cause of your symptoms?
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Given that the doctor has ruled out infection and other likely causes for the diarrhoea, then food sensitivity should be considered.
consequence
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It is most important that the patient considers the likely consequences of different ways of trying to achieve goals.
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They are like charts which allow predictions to be made about the likely consequences of taking different courses of action.
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The process leading up to this and its likely consequences for teaching are discussed in detail in the article by Walsh.
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Soviet television crews were taken to the site, telegenic Soviet doctors were produced to discuss the likely consequences .
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In the absence of systematic research on these questions one can only speculate on the likely consequences of changes in employment practices.
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Next, you have to consider the options open to you and their likely consequences .
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What would be the likely consequences of specific changes in the current set of fiscal measures affecting forestry?
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An assessment of the likely consequences for Britain if Congress rejected the loan makes interesting reading.
explanation
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Running was the most likely explanation .
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I had suggested some new tropical disease was a far more likely explanation .
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The most likely explanation for this is that the vehicle itself is not actually speeding up, but the cooling fan is!
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These relaxations are a more likely explanation for oesophagopharyngeal reflux than defective basal upper oesophageal sphincter tone.
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The most likely explanation seems to be that stroking makes leaf tissues tougher.
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The more likely explanation is that she was pressurising him to leave your daughter to marry her.
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The most likely explanation was her offer to buy him dinner in return for the loan of the flat.
outcome
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Here she is assessing the likely outcome of a confrontation with her local council.
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The most likely outcome will be that Rep.
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In this way, individual operations can be shaped to be realistic rather than at odds with the likely outcome .
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An evaluation can also indicate with some authority what are likely outcomes or consequences of recommended revisions.
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Five out of six opinion polls yesterday showed Labour in the lead, pointing to a hung Parliament as the most likely outcome .
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Higher education was reinforcing likely outcomes instead of altering them.
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But what of the fourth situation which is actually the most likely outcome ?
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However, the granting of bail is the most likely outcome .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
more than happy/welcome/likely etc
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And as to the finish, well, they'd be more than happy for you to check the results for yourself.
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For the most part, gallery staffers are more than happy to answer questions and discuss artists.
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If the leader is open, receptive, and responsive to you, the others will more than likely follow suit.
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If this is not possible, then most printers are more than happy to visit enquirers.
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The accident, as it turns out, was a broken mirror and more than likely a shortage of time.
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The Cap'n had been to Jarman House once ... would be coming again more than likely.
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They spend the time getting space for some new person who more than likely will leave.
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We trooped along and he more than likely brought his mate John Grey along with him.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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a list of likely candidates
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A peace settlement now seems likely .
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It is likely that the girl knew her killer.
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Showers and thunderstorms are likely in the afternoon.
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The jury is very likely to believe he was in the apartment at the time of the crime.
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The most likely result is a win for the Democrats.
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The price of petrol is likely to rise again this year.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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At least some of the extra cost of stockholding is likely to be passed on to the caterer.
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But if the past points the way to the future, then a healthy and prosperous adulthood seems more than likely .
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But they are likely to be of greater strategic than employment significance, and there will be losses.
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More experiments on more lymphoma-bearing mice followed, and the doses likely to achieve the best effect were assessed with great care.
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Regular travellers committed to such programmes are likely to choose hotels providing appropriate health and fitness facilities.
II. adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
appear
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If Cadbury buys Orangina, as appears likely , its position will be further enhanced.
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Republicans appeared likely to gain a slightly larger majority in the Senate.
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Even with Raimond van der Gouw quick to narrow the angle a goal appeared likely .
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While it appeared likely the abortion clinic was the target, authorities would not rule out the possibility of other motives.
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But the presence of six other candidates appeared likely to prevent either Bulatovic or Djukanovic from getting a majority.
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The standoff over appointments and confirmations appears likely to deepen as the backlog grows.
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But some pockets of increased activity appear likely to emerge.
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While the House vote likely will be close, the Senate appears likely to agree with Clinton.
seem
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But it seems likely to proceed.
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It seemed likely to me that Oliver Ingraham wanted me to know there had been a better time for him.
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A renewed onslaught against the mutuals seems likely , which could bring windfalls for millions of borrowers, savers and policyholders.
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The bill was approved 64-32 by the Senate on Wednesday, and approval seems likely in the House by early March.
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It seems likely that two separate parties will emerge in its place.
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But this quadrant of Chelsea, more compact and closer to midtown, seems likely to develop more quickly.
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George Bush's administration has not shown such a determination, and it does not seem likely to do so.
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The error involved seems likely to be small relative to other uncertain-ties noted and, if so, is not serious.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Firms that lack the time or resources to develop their own screening procedures will likely turn to personnel firms.
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Five points, which equates to 14 wins, likely will be enough for the conference title. 1.